I was writing my own home screen replacement, and while trying it out on my ZTE Blade I got into a bit of trouble.

I have hooked the HOME-button, and set my app as the default for it. Too late I realised there is no (easy) way out of such an app.

I have tried:
* holding down VOL DOWN to get into FTM-mode, but that just gives me screen that says "FTM" and nothing more
* Using adb, but it just says my device is offline. Debug mode is not enabled on the phone.

So, how can I:
1) get out of an app that has hooked HOME-button?
or
2) reset the phone with a button-combo or over USB (since I cant access the menus)

So you can't even push a new version of the application on to your phone? Typically re-installing an app (running it from Eclipse) will cause the "default" app setting to revert back to choosing an application (and checking if you want it to be default or not). If you can get ADB access, I would say try to uninstall it via ADB. Or push another home application onto your phone.
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Bryan Denny♦May 9 '11 at 3:24

If you can add a shortcut to the home screen, then add the settings application and then uncheck the default.
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PhobosMay 9 '11 at 5:04

Safe Mode may help - unsure about your device, but try keeping MENU pressed while powering up your phone. Else, try pressing the HOME key while booting or a combo of both.
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SparxMay 9 '11 at 9:23

1 Answer
1

Assuming you have ADB access to your test device, you can issue the following command:

adb shell pm uninstall PACKAGE

Where "PACKAGE" is the package name of your launcher app (you should know this since you're creating the app in the first place.)

[Edit]
As requested, re-posting my comment as the answer:
Every site for ZTE Blade has instructions for accessing the Fastboot mode via Volume Up + Power button combination. Eg: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=ZTE_Blade:_Full_Update_Guide Give that a shot and see if you can access the phone via fastboot.exe (should be in the [Android SDK]/tools/ directory.) At that point you can flash a different recovery image (Clockworkmod, Amon-Ra) that will allow access to /data/app to delete your program.

I was going to respond with this but he said "Using adb, but it just says my device is offline." So I'm guessing he doesn't have adb access anymore?
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Bryan Denny♦May 9 '11 at 15:17

I thought he meant that ADB wasn't available in whatever mode he booted the phone into. @Marksu Teoren, is ADB available when you boot normally?
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ChahkMay 9 '11 at 15:33

Nope, no adb access regardless of how I boot it. It shows up when I plug it in but it is marked as "offline" and I can't issue commands to it.
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Marksu TeorenMay 9 '11 at 16:54

Every site for ZTE Blade has instructions for accessing the Fastboot mode via Volume Up + Power button combination. Eg: wiki.cyanogenmod.com/… Give that a shot and see if you can access the phone via fastboot.exe (should be in the <Android SDK>/tools/ directory.) At that point you can flash a different recovery image (Clockworkmod, Amon-Ra) that will allow access to /data/app to delete your program.
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ChahkMay 9 '11 at 17:01

@Chahk: Thank you! You should post that as an answer, didn't even have to flash with another image. "fastboot erase userdata" did the trick!
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Marksu TeorenMay 9 '11 at 17:20